Telescopically sighted fire arms



Oct. 1967 M. LAMENS 3,348,327

TELESCOPICALLY SIGHTED FIRE ARMS Filed April 11, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENYOR MARTIN LAMENS m ATTORNEYB Oct. 2 4, 1967 LAMENS 3,348,327

TELESCOPIGALLY S'IGHTED FIRE ARMS Filed April 11, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR MARTIN LAMENS TTORNEY6 United States Patent 3,348,327 TELESCOPICALLY SIGHTED FIRE ARMS Martin Lamens, 5811 16A Ave., R.R. 4, Ladner, British Columbia, Canada Filed Apr. 11, 1966, Ser. No. 541,783 8 Claims. (Cl. 42-.1)

This invention relates to telescopically sighted fire arms, and particularly to rifles having telescopic sights built therein.

Rifles today have standard sights built therein or mounted thereon. When the rifle is to be used for long distance or very accurate shooting, a telescopic sight is mounted on the top of the barrel thereof. This interferes with the use of the standard sights and so when the latter are used, the telescopic sight has to be removed from the gun. The telescopic sight extends parallel to the barrel of the gun and is spaced upwardly therefrom. As a result of this, the sight is often damaged or its setting changed by coming into contact with external objects when the rifle is being carried. This is troublesome when the rifle is being carried during a hunting expedition, the sights often getting caught in underbrush. The sight is exposed to the elements, and it tends to throw the rifle out of balance because it is above the centre of gravity thereof.

Telescopic sights have been mounted on the sides of rifles so that either the standard sights or the telescopic sight can be used. However, with this arrangement, the telescopic sight still projects from the gun and therefore is exposed to damage, to the elements, and often becomes entangled in underbrush and the like. Furthermore, the entire weight of the telescopic sight is to one side of the longitudinal centre line of the rifle so that this sight tends to throw it out of balance.

A telescopically sighted rifle constructed in accordance with the present invention has a telescopic sight which does not project in any direction outwardly from the rest of the gun so that it is not exposed to the elements or to damage, and it cannot get caught on any outside obstructions. Furthermore, the entire weight of the telescopic sight is located directly beneath the barrel and below the centre of gravity of the gun and, therefore, helps to stabilize the rifle when it is being sighted. Furthermore, the standard sights and the telescopic sight are always available for instant use.

A fire arm according to the present invention comprises a barrel having muzzle and breech ends and mounted on and projecting from a stock, loading and firing means for the barrel at the breech end thereof, a telescope tube mounted beneath the barrel extending longitudinally thereof and having a forward end facing in the same direction as the muzzle end .of the barrel, an eyepiece for the telescope tube and operatively connected to a rearward end of the said tube extending laterally and upwardly therefrom and terminating for sighting purposes close to but to one side of the barrel.

In the preferred form of the invention, the telescope tube is mounted in the forward portion of the stock of the rifle beneath the barrel thereof and extending substantially parallel with the latter. The telescopic sight opens out from the forward end of this forward stock portion, but preferably is recessed in said forward end so that the latter provides protection for the objective lens end of the telescope.

Examples of this invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

FIGURE 1 is a side. elevation of a telescopically sighted rifle according to this invention,

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 with the near side of the forward portion of the rifle stock broken away,

3,348,327 Patented Oct. 24, 1967 FIGURE 3 is a section taken on the line 349-3 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of a portion of the rifle at the breech there-of,

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatical section taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 3, illustrating part of the optical system of the telescope of FIGURES 1 to 4,

FIGURE 6 is a diagrammatic sectional view taken on the line 6-- -6 of FIGURE 3, illustrating another portion of said optical system,

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of an alternative form of telescopically sighted rifle in accordance with this invention,

FIGURE 8 is a vertical section taken on the line 8--8 of FIGURE 7,

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on the line 9-.-9 of FIGURE 8,

FIGURE 10 is a section taken on the line 101.0 of FIGURE 9, and

FIGURE 11 is a diagrammatic sectional view taken on the line 11-11 of FIGURE 8, illustrating part of the optical system of the telescope of FIGURES 7 to 10'.

Referring to FIGURES 1 to 6 of the drawings, 10 is a, telescopically sighted fire arm or rifle according to this invention including a rifle barrel 12 bedded on the for- Ward portion 14 of a rifle stock 15 in the standard manner. Barrel 12 has the usual muzzle end 18 and breech end 19 above the forward portion 14 of the stock. The usual loading and firing means for the rifle is indicated at 21. Rifle 10 is provided with a standard fore sight 23 on the muzzle end of the barrel and a standard hind sight 24 at the breech end thereof.

In the illustrated example of the invention, the forward portion or section 14 of the rifle stock is hollowed out as indicated at 26 to receive telescopic apparatus generally designated by the numeral 27. This hollowed part or bore 26 opens outwardly at 29 at the forward end of said portion or section, as clearly shown in FIGURE 2.

Telescopic apparatus 27 includes a standard telescope tube 30 with a long eye relief and located in bore 26 and mounted on the lower surface of barrel 12 by a standard mount 32, Tube 30 has a forward end 34 with the usual objective lens, not shown, therein, and a standard eyepiece 35 at its opposite end. The usual adjusting knobs 37 and 38 are provided for telescope tube 30, said knobs being used to adjust the telescope tube horizontally and vertically relative to barrel 12. It will be noted in FIG- URE 2 that the'telescope tube is located immediately beneath barrel 12 and extends substantially parallel thereto. An additional eyepiece unit 42 is provided for telescope tube 30 and is connected to the eyepiece end 35 thereof.

Eyepiece unit 42 comprises an elongated housing 45 connected at one end to the telescope eyepiece 35 and projecting laterally therefrom. This housing 45 may project straight out in a lateral direction, or it may be inclined slightly upwardly, as clearly shown in FIGURE ;3. A second housing 48 is connected to the outer end of first housing 45 and projects upwardly therefrom substantially normal thereto. Actually, housing 45 has an outer end 50 which is overlapped by a lower end 51 of vertical housing 48, said ends being joined together. The inner end of housing 45 has an opening 53 in the side thereof registering with eyepiece 35 of the telescope tube 30, while adjacent ends 50 and 51 of housings 45 and 48 have a common opening 54 therein. An eyepiece opening 56 is provided in the upper end of housing 48 facing in a rearward direction relative to gun 10. A mounting bracket 58 connected to and extending from the side of housing 48 fits over the top of barrel 12 and is secured thereto in any suitable manner, such as by a screw 59.

Telescopic apparatus 27 is adjusted to sight properly for rifle 10. When the telescopic apparatus is used for aiming purposes, the person holding the gun sights his .target in eyepiece 56. This eyepiece receives an image of the target from telescope tube 30. It will be noted that the eyepiece is to one side of barrel 12 where it can be conveniently seen while the person holds the rifle and sights in the usual manner, and yet the main weight of the telescopic sight is directly below the barrel.

FIGURES 5 and 6 diagrammatically illustrate one form of optical system for directing an image from telescope tube 30 to eyepiece 56 of unit 42. A prism 62 mounted in the inner end of housing 45 receives the image from tube 30 and directs it on to another prism 63 mounted in the outer end of said housing 45. The

image is directed from prism 63 on to an upwardly inclined prism 65 in the lower end of housing 48 which directs the image on to another prism 66 in the upper end of said housing 48 which, in turn, directs the image to eyepiece 56. Instead of two prisms 62 and 63, a single long prism having suitably sloped ends may be used.

Similarly, a suitable single long prism may be substituted for prisms 65 and 66.

The main part of telescopic apparatus 27 is mounted within the forward portion or section 14 of the gun stock 15, and is located immediately beneath barrel 12. Thus the main weight of the telescopic apparatus is located directly beneath the barrel and below the centre of gravity of the gun. Eyepiece unit 42 fits closely to the rifie and is not very likely to get caught on any outside obstructions.

FIGURES 7 to 11 illustrate an alternative formof telescopically sighted fire arm or rifle a. This is the same as rifle 10 in all details excepting for the eyepiece unit 75 which is different from unit 42.

Eyepiece unit 75 consists of a single elongated housing '77 having an inner end 78 rotatably connected to the eyepiece end 35 of telescope tube 30. This housing has an opening 79 near the end 78 thereof in registry with eyepiece 35. Housing 77 is inclined upwardly and outwardly from tube 30 and has an outer end 81 with an eyepiece 82 therein facing in the rearward direction relative to rifle 10a.

Housing 77 is swingably connected to tube 30 in any convenient manner. In this example, the housing is provided with an annular flange 85 surrounding opening 79 therein and rotatably fitting over the adjacent end of tube 30 or eyepiece 35. A wavy spring 87 is located in registering annular grooves 88 and 89 formed in flange 85 and tube 30, as shown in FIGURES 9 and 10. This spring allows housing 77 to be rotated or swung relative to tube 30, but retains the housing in any position to which it is moved. If it is desired to be sure that the housing cannot swing relative to the telescope tube after said housing has been set, a set screw 91 may be provided for this purpose. The screw is threaded in annular flange 85 and bears against the outer surface of tube 30 or eyepiece 35.

FIGURE 11 diagrammatically illustrates the optical 7 system of eyepiece unit 75. A prism 93 located in the inner end of housing 77 directs the image from the telescope on to another prism 94 in the housing at the outer end thereof which, in turn, directs the image to the unit eyepiece 82. A single long prism having suitable ends may be substituted for prisms 93 and 94.

The fire arm 10a is handled or used in the same manner as fire arm 10. Housing 75 may be swung back and forth towards and away from barrel 12. When the user of the gun is aiming at a target, he sights on the target by looking into eyepiece 82. He is also free to use the standard sights of the gun. An advantage of eyepiece unit 75 over unit 42 is that the former is smaller and lighter than the latter, can be adjusted towards and away from the rifle barrel to suit the user of the gun, and can be swung inwardly towards the barrel out of the way when not required.

An advantage of both forms of this invention results from the fact that when the gun is being aimed,.the eyepiece of the apparatus is spaced from the eye of the person doing the aiming. This eliminates the possibility of injury to the eye or forehead of the user.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A fire arm comprising a barrel having muzzle and breech ends and mounted on and projecting from a stock, loading and firing means for the barrel at the breech end thereof, a telescope tube mounted beneath the barrel extending longitudinally thereof and having a forward end facing in the same direction as the muzzle end of the barrel, an eyepiece for the telescope tube and operatively connected to a rearward end of said tube extending laterally and upwardly therefrom and terminating for sighting purposes close to but to one side of the barrel.

2. A fire arm as claimed in claim 1 in which said eyepiece is swingably connected to the telescope tube for swinging movement towards and away from the barrel.

3. A fire arm as claimed in claim 2 in which said eyepiece is in. the form of an elongated housing inclined upwardly and laterally from said tube.

4. A fire arm as claimed in claim 1 in which the eyepiece comprises a first housing connected to said rearward end of the tube and extending laterally therefrom, and a second housing connected to an outerend of said first housing and extending upwardly substantially normal thereto.

5. A fire arm comprising a rifle stock, a rifle barrel bedded on a forward portion of the stock and having a breech end over said forward portion and an opposite muzzle end, loading and firing means for the barrel at the breech end thereof, a telescope tube mounted in said forward portion of the stock beneath the barrel and extending substantially parallel therewith and having a forward end facing in the same direction as the muzzle end of the barrel and opening out from a forward end of said stock portion, an eyepiece for the telescope tube and operatively connected to a rearward end of said tube extending laterally and upwardly therefrom and terminating for sighting purposes close to but to one side of the barrel.

6. A fire arm as claimed in claim 5 in which said eyepiece is swingably connected to the telescope tube for swinging movement towards and away from the barrel.

7. A fire arm as claimed in claim 5 in which said eyepiece is in the form of an elongated housing inclined upwardly and laterally from said tube.

8. A fire arm as claimed in claim 5 in which the eyepiece comprises a first housing connected to said rearward end. of the tube and extending laterally therefrom, and a second housing connected to an outer end of said first housing and extending upwardly substantially normal thereto.

No references cited. 

1. A FIRE ARM COMPRISING A BARREL HAVING MUZZLE AND BREECH ENDS AND MOUNTED ON AND PROJECTING FROM A STOCK, LOADING AND FIRING MEANS FOR THE BARREL AT THE BREECH END THEREOF, A TELESCOPE TUBE MOUNTED BENEATH THE BARREL EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY THEREOF AND HAVING A FORWARD END FACING IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS THE MUZZLE END OF THE BARREL, AN EYEPIECE FOR THE TELESCOPE TUBE AND OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO A REARWARD END OF SAID TUBE EXTENDING LATERALLY AND UPWARDLY THEREFROM AND TERMINATING FOR SIGHTING PURPOSES CLOSE TO BUT TO ONE SIDE OF THE BARREL. 